I currently have a felt strip on both sides of my Rogers bass drum. I like the sound but it makes it a lot harder to tune. Then I saw a picture of Earl Palmer using one of those vintage external bass drum mufflers and it got me intrigued.
How do these compare soundwise to felt strips? do they mute it more/less? more effective?
I really like the idea of being able to adjust the amount of muffling and not having tuning problems.
cheers!
It may not be the popular opinion 'round these parts, but all of the major head companies make GREAT self-dampening heads. I use an Evans EMAD on my kick drums with any kind of reso head, and they are punchy, boomy, and easy to tune. I don't use any other muffling.
It may not be the popular opinion 'round these parts, but all of the major head companies make GREAT self-dampening heads. I use an Evans EMAD on my kick drums with any kind of reso head, and they are punchy, boomy, and easy to tune. I don't use any other muffling.
I agree, EMAD user here too, and love it, nothing on the front head. I have no experience with the clamp-style external muffler, but I would think that it would be easy to adjust to the sound you wanted based on what I can see of it. I'm sure you will have others here telling you a felt strip is the only way to go. But my grandpa always told me to watch out for guys that start a sentence with "The only way to do..." :D
I always wondered why more drum companies didn't put mufflers (like on toms)on bass drums like Premier did. Are their others? Anyhow, I have used Emad on my non-vintage drums. They are great. Never considered it for vintage ... hmmm
-Doug
I've never used the EMAD head (I've had an EQ3 on my kick for eons), but I've heard stories of the muffling ring coming loose after a few months of use. Anyone have any experiences like this?
I currently have a felt strip on both sides of my Rogers bass drum. I like the sound but it makes it a lot harder to tune. Then I saw a picture of Earl Palmer using one of those vintage external bass drum mufflers and it got me intrigued. How do these compare soundwise to felt strips? do they mute it more/less? more effective?I really like the idea of being able to adjust the amount of muffling and not having tuning problems.cheers!
Emad on batter and coated emperor on the reso side. No felt needed. External mufflers are cool though especially on an old Rogers BD.
I have used both felt strip and Emads.
The Emads that I now use sound not a lot different to what I had created back in the '70s... by utilising self adhesive foam air seal around the inside of the batter head..
Cheers
John
I always wondered why more drum companies didn't put mufflers (like on toms) like Premier did. Are their others? -Doug
Gretsch Pratt Muffler, works great and is still available...Coffee Break2
I've never used the EMAD head (I've had an EQ3 on my kick for eons), but I've heard stories of the muffling ring coming loose after a few months of use. Anyone have any experiences like this?
I've had at least a dozen of these heads and I've never seen one fail. I recommend EMADs for any kick drum. They make tuning so easy and they sound great. And they do have a coated model for a slightly more vintage look.
Of course, I'm speaking about drums that are to be regularly played. If I'm displaying a vintage kit more than I play it, era-appropriate heads are cool. But if I'm taking it on gigs and rehearsals twice a week, I take advantage of all those years of bd head innovation :)
